Senators Francis Escudero, Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Manuel "Mar" Roxas 2nd criticized the Senate committee move against the World Bank.
"The allegations made by the WB are very serious and can adversely affect our country's status in the international arena. We should take a look at the assertions of the WB first before looking at the one who discovered them," Escudero said.
Roxas said the Senate should look into the rigging of the bidding process rather than blame the World Bank for baring illegal practices in government transactions.
Lacson said the government should have exerted enough effort to obtain the documents if it is really serious.
Pimentel disagreed with their observations. He said it might be too much to expect the government to really seek documents that could be used to hang some of its officials.
"We have to get the documents from the World Bank itself because it is the source of the primary evidence. It is only when we could not get the documents from the World Bank that we seek secondary evidence," he said.
Pressure from the House
Also on Friday, at least two lawmakers at the House of Representatives asked the Palace to protest a World Bank report that pointed to allegedly corrupt practices of ranking government officials--but without solid basis.
Rep. Rodito Albano 3rd of Isabela, citing a report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), said the World Bank report is full of innuendos and based mostly on second- and third-hand accounts from rival contractors. Earlier in the week, the investigative piece by the center said the bank report was a mixed of facts, rumors and innuendos.
"We have been crucifying the contractors and the public officials tagged in the report, and then we later discover it may not have been as credible as was earlier claimed. This has to be explained by the WB," he added.
Rep. Pedro Romualdo of Camiguin also condemned the World Bank report, which contained unsubstantiated allegations. "The people who came out with such [a] baseless and highly derogatory report must be held accountable for the flak our country, government officials and local contractors are getting." --With Jomar Canlas
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